Sports - February 6, 2019

Orlando targets electronic games and e-sports to attract new visitors

To help turn Orlando into a must-see destination for anyone who enjoys electronic games: this is the goal of Jason Siegel, CEO of Greater Orlando Sports Commission – a group that helps brings youth, amateur, collegiate and professional sports events to Central Florida.

The city has already hosted several events, such as the first Call of Duty World League Championship in 2017, considered the Super Bowl of video game events. It attracted thousands of attendees and showed off Orlando as a viable place for future esports competitions.

“We put the task force in place and we’ve had three meetings so far to talk about strategy and how we are going to position ourselves as an esports destination and hub for the future,” Siegel commented in an article in the Orlando Business Journal.

Photo: Call of Duty Championship official website

According to an April 2018 report by investment firm Goldman Sachs and market research firm NewZoo LLC, esports viewership may be on par with the National Football League by 2022, with more than 300 million viewers worldwide.

Siegel believes the game industry could become even bigger. “I think without question, there is a chance in the near future future, egaming – those kinds of opportunities will be Olympic sports and they will be represented at the NCAA level,” he said to OBJ.

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